10.5281/zenodo.47394 Dedeurwaerdere, Tom Tom Dedeurwaerdere Université catholique de Louvain Zenodo 2016 Internal motivations Biodiversity Multi-actor governance Payment for ecosystem services Crowding out European Commission http://doi.org/10.13039/501100000780 282625 MOTivational strength of ecosystem services and alternative ways to express the value of BIOdiversity European Commission http://doi.org/10.13039/501100000780 284382 Institutionalizing global genetic-resource commons. Global Strategies for accessing and using essential public knowledge assets in the life sciences 2016-03-11 http://zenodo.org/record/47394 https://zenodo.org/record/47394/files/Data_All_Internal_motivations.pdf https://zenodo.org/record/47394/files/survey_questionnaire_internal_motivations.pdf Open Access Creative Commons Zero 1.0 Universal <p>These files provide the original survey data of the paper on motivations for biodiversity conservation in Europe. This paper analyses the possibility of building a mutually supportive dynamics between internally and<br /> externally motivated behaviour for biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services provision. To this<br /> purpose a face to face survey amongst 169 key actors of 34 highly successful and prominent biodiversity<br /> arrangements in seven EU countries was conducted. The main<br /> finding of the paper is the feasibility of<br /> combining inherently intrinsically motivated behaviours (providing enjoyment, pleasure from<br /> experimentation and learning, aesthetic satisfaction) and internalized extrinsic motivations (related<br /> to the identification with the collective goals of conservation policy) through a common set of governance<br /> features. Successful initiatives that combine internal and external motivations share the following<br /> features: inclusive decision making processes, a broad monitoring by &ldquo;peers&rdquo; beyond the core staff of the<br /> initiatives, and a context that is supportive for the building of autonomous actor competences. These<br /> findings are in line with the psycho-sociological theory of motivation, which shows the importance of a<br /> psycho-social context leading to a subjective perception of autonomy and a sense of competence of the<br /> actors.</p>